Manchester City vs Crystal Palace in FA Cup Final; Serie A Title Race Heats Up

European football`s focus is back on decisive matches this weekend. The FA Cup final is set to be played, and the Serie A title race is reaching its climax in the penultimate weekend. Here`s a look at the upcoming action.

Weekend Football Schedule

FA Cup Final Preview

The final trophy of the English season is on the line this Saturday at London`s Wembley Stadium, featuring a classic encounter between Manchester City and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.

Manchester City arrives at their third consecutive FA Cup final as strong favorites, highly motivated to secure a trophy. After a challenging start to the season, Pep Guardiola`s side has improved significantly. While they are still aiming for a higher Premier League finish, winning the FA Cup represents the best opportunity to avoid a trophyless season, which hasn`t happened since Guardiola`s first year in charge (2016-17).

City will be boosted by the return of Erling Haaland, who played a full match last week after recovering from an ankle injury and is expected to be a key player. They might draw inspiration from their dominant 5-2 victory against Palace in April. Kevin de Bruyne, potentially nearing the end of his successful decade at City, could add another title to his collection in what might be one of his last games alongside Haaland, a partnership that has yielded 25 combined goals. De Bruyne`s expected departure makes this final a poignant moment, with many, including Haaland, paying tribute to him.

• Erling Haaland praised de Bruyne, stating it`s been a pleasure playing with him and calling him potentially the best player in City`s history and one of the Premier League`s finest. He highlighted de Bruyne`s unique ability to provide assists, noting how many of his own goals came from de Bruyne`s passes, and expressed hope that they could end their time together well.

Crystal Palace awaits City at Wembley, participating in their third FA Cup final and aiming for their first major trophy in the top flight. Key players like Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze, who have scored 29 goals between them this season, will be crucial if Palace is to achieve a significant upset. Historically, only one non-`big six` team (Leicester in 2021) has won the FA Cup since 2013 (Wigan), making a Palace victory a rare but possible `cupset`.

Dramatic Serie A Title Race

Serie A returns on Sunday for what promises to be a dramatic penultimate matchday in Europe`s most exciting title race. With nine out of ten games kicking off simultaneously, attention will be split between Milan and Parma, where Inter and Napoli are vying for the Scudetto.

Napoli begins the weekend just one point ahead of Inter, facing a seemingly favorable match against 16th-placed Parma. However, their surprising 2-2 draw against Genoa last week raised doubts about their ability to secure the title. Despite outshooting Genoa significantly, an own goal contributed to the dropped points. Sunday offers them a chance to regain momentum and maintain their lead, putting pressure back on Inter.

Inter faces a tougher test against fifth-placed Lazio, who are level on points with Juventus and pushing for a Champions League spot. Inter benefited from Napoli`s draw last week and capitalized by securing a 2-0 victory against Torino, suggesting momentum might be on their side, especially after reaching the Champions League final. Their match against Lazio will be a crucial test of their title credentials, despite being considered favorites.

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